I Regret to Inform You
by Stephen Ratliff
Summary: Marrissa Stories #13, in which our hero has to deliver bad news.


Title: I Regret to Inform You  
Author: Stephen Ratliff  
Series: TNG, Marrissa Stories  
Rating: [PG]  
Codes: n/a  
Part: NEW 1/1  
  
Summary: Marrissa is assigned to inform a woman that her son has  
died in the line of duty.  
  
+++  
  
Marrissa's week off had been interrupted by the duty. It  
was not a duty Marrissa was ready for. That made her even more  
uncomfortable than the dress uniform she wore. She'd been  
pressed into this duty, mainly because she was the closest person  
of sufficient rank. It wasn't something she'd been trained for,  
though the Admiral had said that there never was training for  
such a duty. She adjusted her uniform a little, before ringing  
the door bell.  
As she waited for the door to be answered, Marrissa looked  
at her reflection in the glass screen door. Her Lieutenant's  
pips were perfectly aligned, and her communicator was straight.   
Those details were important for this duty, as was the ability to  
deliver the news without breaking down.   
The black shoulders of her dress uniform began to heat up in  
the bright sun. It was beautiful cloudless day, not like it  
should be. A day with events like this should be cloudy,  
threatening to rain, or more appropriately, raining.   
The door opened to reveal a grey haired lady in her fifties.   
As she noticed Marrissa in her dress uniform, her hand went to  
cover her mouth, before she opened the screen door. It was time.  
"Mrs. Chagnon?" Marrissa said. The lady nodded, fearful of  
what Marrissa was going to say next. "I regret to inform you  
that your son, Ensign Anupum Chagnon, perished in the line of  
duty, when the USS Sarajevo was destroyed by unknown forces,  
early yesterday morning."  
Mrs. Chagnon collapsed against the door frame. Tears formed  
in the corners of her eyes as, she moaned, "It can't be."  
Marrissa had no idea what to say. True, just over two years  
ago, she'd been on the other side, when Commander Riker had told  
her that both of her parents had died, but this was different.   
What do you say when someone has lost their only son? With  
parents, it was different. Some day, you expect your parents to  
die before you, but not your children.  
Mrs. Chagnon collected herself, standing up straight again,  
and using a handkerchief to dry her eyes. "How did it happen?"  
This, Marrissa was prepared for. Most of her ride over had  
been taken up with a review of the end of the starship Sarajevo.   
There wasn't much. "The Sarajevo was lost in the Gamma Quadrant  
while defending New Bajor. Both ship and colony were lost, and  
there will be no remains."  
That last point seemed to shock Mrs. Chagnon the most. She  
collapsed once again against the door frame. "My poor boy."  
Marrissa searched for some way to comfort the lady, and  
found none. This was simply beyond her experience. So she stood  
still, at attention waiting for Mrs. Chagnon to say something.   
It was with great difficulty that she managed to stay tear free,  
keeping the neutral mask of duty on.   
Once again, Mrs. Chagnon collected herself. "Won't you come  
in?" she said. "You don't have to go on to the next person, do  
you?"  
"No, ma'am, you're the only one I have to see," Marrissa  
said. She wanted to comfort the lady somehow. And it was true.   
Ensign Chagnon had been the only member of the Sarajevo's crew  
from this planet, and hence, his mother was Marrissa's only  
visit.  
She was shown into a small living room. Over the fireplace  
was a picture of Mrs. Chagnon and Ensign Chagnon. Mrs. Chagnon  
was seated, and her son stood behind her, slightly to one side,  
his hands resting gently on her shoulders.  
"That's my Anupum," Mrs. Chagnon said proudly. "We had it  
painted just before he left for the Sarajevo." The ship's name  
was said with a sob. Marrissa moved to comfort the lady, but was  
waved off. "He was so proud of getting that post. Not every  
officer gets posted to a starship with the Sarajevo's reputation  
out of the Academy, you know. Of course you know, you're in Star  
Fleet. Anyway, he was so surprised that he got the post, after  
all he was in the third quarter of his class, and near the bottom  
of that quarter at that..."  
Mrs. Chagnon's eyes rested on a picture of her son as a  
young boy, as she told her son's hopes and dreams to Marrissa.   
Marrissa watched and listened as she continued to tell about her  
son as he grew up, how he once played football for the local high  
school...  
"He wasn't the quarterback, Anupum couldn't throw well  
enough, but a wide receiver. The girls loved it when he  
stretched out and caught the pass for a touchdown. I don't think  
he brought home the same girl for dinner two weeks running, he  
was so popular..."  
The high school jersey, number 81, was enshrined in a trophy  
case to the left of the fireplace, along with several trophies,  
including the one for third place in the Academy Marathon. It  
looked to be a rather impressive collection for a man who died at  
just 22 years of age.  
"... he really didn't do the best in school, though, and I  
was surprised that he got accepted to the Academy, but Anupum was  
always full of surprises. I remember once when he..."  
  
The sun was setting by the time Marrissa left the house. As  
she walked back to the hotel to resume her week's furlough, she  
observed the slanting sun light across the low hills, and the  
long shadows thrown by the trees. Marrissa felt the shadow of  
the Ensign's death. She'd spend almost her whole day listening  
to Mrs. Chagnon, hearing about her son's honors, deeds, and  
little incidents. It made her feel that she knew Anupum Chagnon.   
It did not feel right to continue her vacation, in the wake of  
his death. She felt the darkness of duty closed in as she  
entered the hotel. Marrissa took one last look at the last rays  
of sunlight disappearing behind the hills. The duty had been  
sad, and it colored her vacation like the dark red edged cloud  
low to the horizon against the darkening sky. She'd be returning  
to the Enterprise early, and pray that this sad duty was one  
she'd never have to do again. 


End file.
